Refrigerator and manufacturing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator and a manufacturing method thereof including processes of separately manufacturing partitions dividing a storage space into a plurality of storage chambers from a main body including an inner casing and an outer casing, coupling the partitions to an inner surface of the inner casing, filling a space between the inner casing and the partitions with an insulator, and filling the partitions with the insulator by filling a space between the inner casing and the outer casing with the insulator. Since the insulator uniformly fills the partitions dividing the storage space into the plurality of storage chambers, the partitions may possess improved insulating qualities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/148,577, filed on May 6, 2016, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/973,041, filed on Dec. 17, 2015, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/939,662, filed onJul. 11, 2013, and claims the priority benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2012-0075903, filed on Jul. 12, 2012 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a refrigerator equippedwith a plurality of storage chambers divided by partitions and amanufacturing method of the refrigerator.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator is an appliance which is used to keep foodsin a fresh state and is provided with storage chambers and a cold airsupply device to supply cold air to the storage chambers.

A temperature of the storage chambers is maintained within a rangerequired to keep foods in a fresh state.

The storage chambers have an opened front portion, and the opened frontportion of the storage chambers is usually in a closed state by a doorin order to maintain the temperature of the storage chambers.

The storage chambers are defined by an inner casing, and the innercasing is coupled with an outer casing to define an appearance of arefrigerator. An insulator fills a space between the inner casing andthe outer casing in order to prevent outflow of cold air.

The storage chambers are divided by partitions which are integrallyformed at the inner casing. When the insulator fills the space betweenthe inner casing and the outer casing, the insulator also fills thepartitions.

However, as refrigerators have gradually increased in size, thepartitions are increased in size. Therefore, when the insulator fillsthe space between the inner casing and the outer casing, the insulatormay not uniformly fill the partitions.

SUMMARY

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator anda manufacturing method thereof including processes of separatelymanufacturing partitions dividing a storage space into a plurality ofstorage chambers from a main body including an inner casing and an outercasing, coupling the partitions to an inner surface of the inner casing,filling a space between the inner casing and the partitions with aninsulator, and filling the partitions with the insulator by filling aspace between the inner casing and the outer casing with the insulator.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigeratorincluding a storage space having an opened front portion and partitionscoupled to an inner surface of the storage space to divide the storagespace into a plurality of storage chambers, further includes an innercasing having the storage space defined thereby, and including aplurality of side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall respectivelyformed with coupling recesses to which the partitions are coupled, anouter casing coupled to the inner casing to define an appearance of therefrigerator, and an insulator filling a space between the inner casingand the outer casing. The partitions include a first partitionhorizontally coupled to the plurality of side walls and the rear wall ofthe inner casing to divide the storage space into an upper storagechamber and a lower storage chamber, and a second partition verticallycoupled to a bottom surface of the first partition and the bottom wallof the inner casing to divide the lower storage chamber into a leftchamber and a right chamber. The insulator fills the first partitionseparately from the insulator filling the space between the inner casingand the outer casing. The second partition communicates with the firstpartition so that the insulator fills the second partition.

The coupling recesses may include a first coupling recess formed at theplurality of side walls, a second coupling recess formed at the rearwall, and a third coupling recess formed at the bottom wall of the innercasing. The first coupling recess and the second coupling recess mayhave a length corresponding to a horizontal length of the plurality ofside walls and the rear wall of the inner casing, respectively, and thethird coupling recess may have a length corresponding to a horizontallength of a portion of the bottom wall of the inner casing other than aportion occupied by a machine room covers.

The first partition may include a plurality of side surfaces which areslanted in a substantially inverted-trapezoidal shape, and the firstcoupling recess may have a shape corresponding to the shape of theplurality of side surfaces of the first partition.

The first partition may include a rear surface which extends vertically,the second partition may include a bottom surface which extendshorizontally, and the second coupling recess and the third couplingrecess may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the rear surfaceof the first partition and the bottom surface of the second partition,respectively.

The first partition may include a lower plate, an upper plate coupled tothe lower plate, a prefabricated insulator disposed between the lowerplate and the upper plate, and a reinforcing frame coupled between thelower plate and the upper plate to reinforce the first partition.

The lower plate may be provided with a coupling part to which the secondpartition is coupled, and the coupling part may be formed withcommunication holes communicating with the second partition so that theinsulator filling the first partition moves into the second partitionand fills the same.

The reinforcing frame may be provided with support parts at both endportions thereof, which extend toward a space between the upper plateand the lower plate, and the prefabricated insulator may include aplurality of side surfaces at a front portion thereof, which have ashape corresponding to a shape of the support parts of the reinforcingframe so as to provide a space to accommodate the support parts betweenthe upper plate and the lower plate.

The prefabricated insulator may be formed with guide paths at a bottomsurface thereof, and the guide paths may include a first guide path toguide the insulator filling the first partition to the communicationholes of the coupling part so that the insulator fills the secondpartition, and second guide paths to guide the insulator filling thefirst partition to supplementary filling holes formed at the pluralityof side surfaces of the front portion of the prefabricated insulator sothat the insulator fills the inner space of the first partition.

The first partition may be formed with an opening at the rear surfacethereof, through which the insulator fills the first partition, and theopening may communicate with the guide paths.

The second coupling recess formed at the inner casing may be formed withfirst filling holes, and the insulator may fill the first partitionthrough the first filling holes and the opening.

The first coupling recess, the second coupling recess and the thirdcoupling recess may be formed with second filling holes, through whichthe insulator fills a space between the first, second and third couplingrecesses and the first partition.

The second partition may include a left plate, a right plate coupled tothe left plate, a hot pipe support part coupled between the left plateand the right plate to support a hot pipe and maintain a gap between theleft plate and the right plate, and a cover coupled to a front surfaceof the hot pipe support part.

The second partition may be formed with an opening at a top surfacethereof, and the opening of the second partition may communicate withthe communication holes so that the insulator fills the second partitiontherethrough.

The left plate and the right plate may be adhered to each other by theinsulator filling a space therebetween through the opening.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, arefrigerator includes a main body, a storage space formed in the mainbody and having an opened front portion, and partitions coupled to aninner surface of the storage space to divide the storage space into aplurality of storage chambers. The partitions include a first partitionhorizontally coupled to the storage space to divide the storage spaceinto an upper storage chamber and a lower storage chamber, and a secondpartition vertically coupled to a bottom surface of the first partitionand the storage space to divide the lower storage chamber into a leftchamber and a right chamber. The partitions are filled with an insulatorwhich fills the main body after being coupled to the storage space.

The main body may include an inner casing defining the storage space andan outer casing coupled to the inner casing to define an appearance ofthe refrigerator, and the insulator may fill a space between the innercasing and the outer casing.

The inner casing may include a plurality of side walls, a rear wall anda bottom wall respectively formed with coupling recesses to which thepartitions are coupled. The coupling recesses may include a firstcoupling recess formed at the plurality of side walls, a second couplingrecess formed at the rear wall, and a third coupling recess formed atthe bottom wall of the inner casing. The first coupling recess and thesecond coupling recess may have a length corresponding to a horizontallength of the plurality of side walls and the rear wall of the innercasing, respectively, and the third coupling recess may have a lengthcorresponding to a horizontal length of a portion of the bottom wall ofthe inner casing other than a portion occupied by a machine room covers.

The first partition may include a plurality of side surfaces which areslanted in a substantially inverted-trapezoidal shape, and the firstcoupling recess may have a shape corresponding to the shape of theplurality of side surfaces of the first partition.

The first partition may include a lower plate, an upper plate coupled tothe lower plate, a prefabricated insulator disposed between the lowerplate and the upper plate, and a reinforcing frame coupled between thelower plate and the upper plate to reinforce the first partition.

The lower plate may be provided with a coupling part to which the secondpartition is coupled, and the coupling part may be formed withcommunication holes communicating with the second partition so that theinsulator filling the first partition moves into the second partitionand fills the same.

The reinforcing frame may be provided with support parts at both endportions thereof, which extend toward a space between the upper plateand the lower plate, and the prefabricated insulator may include aplurality of side surfaces at a front portion thereof, which have ashape corresponding to a shape of the support parts of the reinforcingframe so as to provide a space to accommodate the support parts betweenthe upper plate and the lower plate.

The prefabricated insulator may be formed with guide paths at a bottomsurface thereof, and the guide paths may include a first guide path toguide the insulator filling the first partition to the communicationholes of the coupling part so that the insulator fills the secondpartition, and second guide paths to guide the insulator filling thefirst partition to supplementary filling holes formed at the pluralityof side surfaces of the front portion of the prefabricated insulator sothat the insulator fills the inner space of the first partition.

The first partition may be formed with an opening at the rear surfacethereof, through which the insulator fills the first partition, and theopening may communicate with the guide paths.

The second coupling recess formed at the inner casing may be formed withfirst filling holes, and the insulator may fill the first partitionthrough the first filling holes and the opening.

The first coupling recess, the second coupling recess and the thirdcoupling recess may be formed with second filling holes, through whichthe insulator fills a space between the first, second and third couplingrecesses and the first partition.

The second partition may include a left plate, a right plate coupled tothe left plate, a hot pipe support part coupled between the left plateand the right plate to support a hot pipe and maintain a gap between theleft plate and the right plate, and a cover coupled to a front surfaceof the hot pipe support part.

The second partition may be formed with an opening at a top surfacethereof. The opening of the second partition may communicate with thecommunication holes so that the insulator fills the second partitiontherethrough. The left plate and the right plate may be adhered to eachother by the insulator filling a space therebetween through the opening.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure, amanufacturing method of a refrigerator including a storage space havingan opened front portion and partitions coupled to an inner surface ofthe storage space to divide the storage space into a plurality ofstorage chambers, includes preparing a main body including an innercasing and an outer casing separately from the partitions, coupling thepartitions to an inner surface of the inner casing, filling a spacebetween the inner casing and the partitions with an insulator, andfilling the partitions with the insulator by filling a space between theinner casing and the outer casing with the insulator.

As is apparent from the above description, since the insulator uniformlyfills the partitions dividing the storage space into the plurality ofstorage chambers, the partitions may possess improved insulatingqualities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a process of coupling partitions to an innercasing in the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a coupled state of the partitions and the innercasing in the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a coupled state of afirst partition and a first coupling recess in the refrigeratoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a coupled state of thefirst partition and a second coupling recess or a coupled state of asecond partition and a third coupling recess in the refrigeratoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a process of coupling the partitions to thecoupling recesses formed at the inner casing in the refrigeratoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the first partition ofthe refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views showing movement of an insulator in the firstpartition in the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a second partition ofthe refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view schematically showing an adhered state of aleft plate and a right plate of the second partition by the insulator inthe refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator comprises a main body 10, astorage space 50 formed in the main body 10 and having an opened frontportion, doors 60 hingedly coupled to the main body 10 in order to openand close the opened front portion of the storage space 50, andpartitions 100 provided in the main body 10 in order to divide thestorage space 50 into the plurality of storage chambers.

The main body 10 includes an inner casing 20 to define the storage space50, and an outer casing 30 to define an appearance of the refrigerator.An insulator 40 fills a space between the inner casing 20 and the outercasing 30 in order to prevent outflow of cold air from the storage space50.

The refrigerator further comprises a cold air supply device (not shown)to supply cold air to the storage space 50. The cold air supply deviceincludes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, ablowing fan and a cold air duct.

The main body 10 is formed with a machine room 11 at a rear lowerportion thereof, in which the compressor to compress refrigerant and thecondenser to condense the compressed refrigerant are installed.

The storage space 50 is divided into a plurality of storage chambers 51and 53 by the partitions 100. The storage space 50 is provided with aplurality of shelves 55 and storage containers 57 thereinside to storefoodstuffs. The opened front portion of the storage space 50 is openedand closed by the doors 60.

The doors 60 include upper doors 61 to open and close an upper storagechamber 51, and lower doors 63 to open and close a lower storage chamber53. A plurality of door guards 65 may be installed on a rear portion ofthe doors 60 in order to provide food storage space.

Hereinafter, a constitution related to the partitions 100 to divide thestorage space 50 into the plurality of storage chambers 51 and 53 willbe explained.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, the storage space 50 defined by theinner casing 20 may be divided into the plurality of storage chambers 51and 53 by the partitions 100. The partitions 100 are manufacturedseparately from the inner casing 20 and the outer casing 30 and aremounted in the inner casing 20, to thereby divide the storage space 50into the plurality of storage chambers 51 and 53.

The partitions 100 include a first partition 110 horizontally coupled toa plurality of side walls 21 and a rear wall 23 of the inner casing 20in order to divide the storage space 50 into the upper storage chamber51 and the lower storage chamber 53, and a second partition 120vertically coupled to a bottom surface of the first partition 110 and abottom wall 25 of the inner casing 20 in order to divide the lowerstorage chamber 53 into a left chamber 53 a and a right chamber 53 b.

The first partition 110 and the second partition 120 may be arranged ina T shape, to thereby divide the storage space 50 defined by the innercasing 20 into three storage chambers.

The upper storage chamber 51 may be used as a cooling chamber, the leftstorage chamber 53 a may be used as a freezing chamber, and the rightstorage chamber 53 b may be used as either a freezing chamber or acooling chamber. However, division of the storage space 50 is notlimited to this configuration, and the respective storage chambers 51,53 a and 53 b may be used differently from the above constitution.

The plurality of side walls 21 including a left side wall 21 a and aright side wall 21 b, the rear wall 23 and the bottom wall 25 of theinner casing 20 are formed with coupling recesses 27, to which thepartitions 100 are coupled. For example, any one of the plurality ofstorage chambers may be used as either a cooling chamber or freezingchamber.

The coupling recesses 27 include a first coupling recess 27 a formed atthe plurality of side walls 21, a second coupling recess 27 b formed atthe rear wall 23, and a third coupling recess 27 c formed at the bottomwall 25 of the inner casing 20.

The first coupling recess 27 a and the second coupling recess 27 b havea length corresponding to a horizontal length of the plurality of sidewalls 21 and the rear wall 23 of the inner casing 20, respectively. Thethird coupling recess 27 c has a length corresponding to a horizontallength of a portion of the bottom wall 25 of the inner casing 20 otherthan a portion occupied by a machine room cover 13 shielding the machineroom 11.

The first partition 110 is horizontally coupled to the first couplingrecess 27 a and the second coupling recess 27 b formed at the pluralityof side walls 21 and the rear walls 23 of the inner casing 20,respectively, to thereby divide the storage space 50 into the upperstorage chamber 51 and the lower storage chamber 53. For example, asshown in FIG. 2, the first partition 110 may include a protrusion 98which protrudes outwardly from a side of the first partition 110 towardone of the side walls 21 a, 21 b. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, thefirst coupling recess 27 a of a side wall 21 may include an opening 99.As shown in FIGS. 3, 8, and 9, for example, the protrusion 98 of thefirst partition 110 may be inserted into the opening 99 of the firstcoupling recess 27 a of the side wall 21. As shown in FIG. 2 openingsare provided on both of the sidewalls 21 a and 21 b, and as would beunderstood by one of skill in the art, protrusions may be formed on bothsides of the first partition 110.

The second partition 120 divides the lower storage chamber 53 into theleft storage chamber 53 a and the right storage chamber 53 b in such amanner that a top of the second partition 120 is coupled to a bottomsurface of the first partition 110 and a bottom of the second partition120 is coupled to the third coupling recess 27 c formed at the bottomwall 25 of the inner casing 20.

As shown in FIG. 4, in order to solve defects caused by differences ininsulation thickness, a plurality of side surfaces of the firstpartition 110 are slanted in a substantially inverted-trapezoidal shape.The first coupling recess 27 a, to which the plurality of side surfacesof the first partition 110 are coupled, has a shape corresponding to theshape of the plurality of side surfaces of the first partition 110.

As shown in FIG. 5, a rear surface of the first partition 110 coupled tothe second coupling recess 27 b extends vertically, and a bottom surfaceof the second partition 120 coupled to the third coupling recess 27 cextends horizontally. The second coupling recess 27 b has a shapecorresponding to the shape of the rear surface of the first partition110, and the third coupling recess 27 c has a shape corresponding to theshape of the bottom surface of the second partition 120.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second coupling recess 27 b formed at the innercasing 20 is formed with first filling holes 28. The insulator 40 fillsthe first partition 110 through the first filling holes 28 and anopening 119 (which will be described later) formed at the rear surfaceof the first partition 110.

The first, second and third coupling recesses 27 a, 27 b and 27 c formedat the inner casing 20 are formed with second filling holes 29, throughwhich the insulator 40 fills a space between the first, second and thirdcoupling recesses 27 a, 27 b and 27 c and the first partition 110.

The insulator 40 filling a space between the inner casing 20 and theouter casing 30 also fills the first partition 110 through the firstfilling holes 28. However, separately from the insulator 40 filling thespace between the inner casing 20 and the outer casing 30, the insulator40 fills the space between the first, second and third coupling recesses27 a, 27 b and 27 c and the first partition 110.

As shown in FIGS. 7 through 9, the first partition 110 includes a lowerplate 111, an upper plate 113 coupled to the lower plate 111, aprefabricated insulator 115 disposed between the lower plate 111 and theupper plate 113, and a reinforcing frame 117 coupled between the lowerplate 111 and the upper plate 113 to reinforce the first partition 110.

The lower plate 111 is provided with a coupling part 111 a, to which thesecond partition 120 is coupled. The coupling part 111 a is formed withcommunication holes 111 b communicating with the second partition 120,so that the insulator 40 filling the first partition 110 may move intothe second partition 120 and fill the same. The top surface of thesecond partition 120 is formed with an opening 129 communicating withthe communication holes 111 b.

Accordingly, if the insulator 40 fills the first partition 110 throughthe first filling holes 28 of the inner casing 20, the insulator 40moves from the first partition 110 into the second partition 120 throughthe communication holes 111 b formed at the coupling part 111 a of thefirst partition 110 and the opening 129 of the second partition 120.

The reinforcing frame 117 is provided with support parts 117 a at bothportions thereof, which extend toward the space between the upper plate113 and the lower plate 111, in order to reinforce the first partition110.

In order to provide a space to accommodate the support parts 117 a ofthe reinforcing frame 117 between the upper plate 113 and the lowerplate 111, a plurality of side surfaces of a front portion of theprefabricated insulator 115 disposed between the upper plate 113 and thelower plate 111 have a shape corresponding to the shape of the supportparts 117 a.

The prefabricated insulator 115 is formed with guide paths 116 at abottom surface thereof to guide movement of the insulator 40. The guidepaths 116 include a first guide path 116 a to guide the insulator 40filling the first partition 110 to the communication holes 111 b of thecoupling part 111 a provided at the lower plate 111 so that theinsulator 40 fills the second partition 120 through the opening 129 ofthe second partition 120, and a plurality of second guide paths 116 b toguide the insulator 40 filling the first partition 110 to supplementaryfilling holes 115 a formed at the plurality of side surfaces of thefront portion of the prefabricated insulator 115 located adjacent to thesupport parts 117 a of the reinforcing frame 117 so that the insulator40 fills the inner space of the first partition 110.

Therefore, if the insulator 40 fills the first partition 110 through thefirst filling holes 28 of the inner casing 20, the insulator 40 passesthrough the opening 119 of the first partition 110, and a part of theinsulator 40 moves along the first guide path 116 a. Moving along thefirst guide path 116 a, the insulator 40 fills the second partition 120through the communication holes 111 b formed at the coupling part 111 aof the lower plate 111 and the opening 129 formed at the secondpartition 120.

Also, the remaining part of the insulator 40 having passed through theopening 119 of the first partition 110 moves along the second guidepaths 116 b, and fills the space defined by the support parts 117 a ofthe reinforcing frame 117 and the prefabricated insulator 115 throughthe supplementary filling holes 115 a formed at the plurality of sidesurfaces of the front portion of the prefabricated insulator 115. As aresult, the prefabricated insulator 115 and the insulator 40 completelyfill the space between the lower plate 111 and the upper plate 113 ofthe first partition 110.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the second partition 120 includes a leftplate 121, a right plate 123 coupled to the left plate 121, a hot pipesupport part 125 coupled between the left plate 121 and the right plate123 to support a hot pipe and maintain a gap between the left plate 121and the right plate 123, and a cover 127 coupled to a front surface ofthe hot pipe support part 125.

As described above, the top surface of the second partition 120 isformed with the opening 129 communicating with the communication holes111 b formed at the coupling part 111 a of the first partition 110, sothat the insulator 40 may fill the second partition 120 through thecommunication holes 111 b and the opening 129.

The left plate 121 and the right plate 123 of the second partition 120are adhered to each other by the insulator 40 filling a spacetherebetween through the opening 129 without screw engagement.

The partitions 100 including the first partition 110 and the secondpartition 120 are manufactured separately from the main body 10including the inner casing 20 and the outer casing 30, and are coupledto the inner casing 20. Since the partitions 100 are filled with theinsulator 40 which fills the space between the inner casing 20 and outercasing 30, the insulator 40 may uniformly fill the inner space of thepartitions 100.

The above-described constitution may enable the insulator 40 touniformly fill the partitions 100 even though the partitions 100 arerelatively long in large-capacity refrigerators.

Hereinafter, a manufacturing method of the refrigerator including thestorage space and the partitions to divide the storage space into theplurality of storage chambers will be described with reference to FIGS.2 through 11.

The partitions 100 and the main body 10 including the inner casing 20and the outer casing 30 are manufactured separately from each other, andthe partitions 100 are coupled to the coupling recesses 27 formed at theinner surface of the inner casing 20.

The insulator 40 fills the space between the coupling recesses 27 of theinner casing 20 and the partitions 100 through the second filling holes29.

When the insulator 40 completely fills the space between the couplingrecesses 27 of the inner casing 20 and the partitions 100, the insulator40 fills the space between the inner casing 20 and the outer casing 30.

When the insulator 40 fills the space between the inner casing 20 andthe outer casing 30, the insulator 40 also fills the partitions 100through the first filling holes 28 of the inner casing 20.

The partitions 100 include the first partition 110 horizontally coupledto the inner casing 20 and the second partition 120 vertically coupledto the bottom of the first partition 110 and the inner casing 20, andthe insulator 40 injected through the first filling holes 28 fills thefirst partition 110 through the opening 119 of the first partition 110.

A part of the insulator 40 supplied in the first partition 110 movesalong the first guide path 116 a formed at the prefabricated insulator115. Moving along the first guide path 116 a, the insulator 40 fills thesecond partition 120 through the communication holes 111 b formed at thecoupling part 111 a of the lower plate 111 and the opening 129 formed atthe second partition 120.

The remaining part of the insulator 40 having passed through the opening119 of the first partition 110 moves along the second guide paths 116 b,and fills the space defined by the support parts 117 a of thereinforcing frame 117 and the prefabricated insulator 115 through thesupplementary filling holes 115 a formed at the plurality of sidesurfaces of the front portion of the prefabricated insulator 115.Accordingly, the prefabricated insulator 115 and the insulator 40 fillthe space between the lower plate 111 and the upper plate 113 of thefirst partition 110. As a result, the space between the inner casing 20and the outer casing 30 and the inner space of the partitions 100 arecompletely filled with the insulator 40.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is definedin the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator comprising a storage space havingan opened front portion and partitions coupled to an inner surface ofthe storage space to divide the storage space into a plurality ofstorage chambers, the refrigerator further comprising: an inner casinghaving the storage space defined thereby, and including a plurality ofside walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall respectively formed withcoupling recesses to which the partitions are coupled to; an outercasing coupled to the inner casing to define an appearance of therefrigerator; and an insulator filling a space between the inner casingand the outer casing, wherein the partitions include a first partitionhorizontally coupled to the plurality of side walls and the rear wall ofthe inner casing to divide the storage space into an upper storagechamber and a lower storage chamber, and a second partition verticallycoupled to a bottom surface of the first partition and the bottom wallof the inner casing to divide the lower storage chamber into a leftchamber and a right chamber, the insulator fills at least a portion ofthe first partition when the insulator filling the space between theinner casing and the outer casing, and the second partition communicateswith the first partition so that the insulator fills the secondpartition.